By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – He’ll get to represent his school on the basketball court one final time.

LaGrange High’s LaPerion Perry, who enjoyed tremendous success both in basketball and football, has been selected to participate in the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association all-star game in Brunswick on April 1.

Also, LaGrange’s Bo Russell and Aryan Dozier, along with Troup’s Jarrious Jefferson, will play in an all-star game for underclassmen on Saturday at Carver High in Columbus.

Perry will joined by some of the best players in the state for the GACA all-star game.

“Since I’ve been at LaGrange, we’ve never had a kid chosen for this,” said Mark Veal, who was an assistant coach at LaGrange for 10 years before taking over as head coach before the 2015-2016 season. “It’s a big deal.”

It’s a well-deserved honor.

Perry averaged more than 20 points per game, and he was a first-team all-region player for the third time.

Perry was at his best last season when the games meant the most.

In the Region 5-AAAA championship game against a Sandy Creek squad that eventually made it to the final four, Perry scored 21 points, and he had eight points in the fourth quarter.

In the second round of the state tournament against a Richmond Academy team that was one of the favorites to win it all, Perry scored 32 points.

In his final game, a 62-61 loss to Henry County in the quarterfinals, Perry scored 19 points.

Perry was also a standout quarterback for LaGrange, and he’ll be playing football and basketball at the University of West Georgia.

On Saturday, Russell, Jefferson and Dozier will be part of an event that will pit players from Georgia and Alabama against each other.

On a senior-dominated team, Russell made a major impact as a junior for the Grangers, and he’ll be a centerpiece of next season’s team.

Dozier, a junior, helped lead LaGrange to a second-place finish in Region 5-AAAA and a berth in the second round of the state tournament.

Jefferson, also a junior, was a dynamic scorer for a Troup team that returned to the state tournament after missing out the previous few years.

Russell will also get an opportunity to play in the Border Wars all-star game in Cairo on March 24.

That game will feature players from Georgia and Florida facing off against each other.